How Do I Choose What Music To Play To My Customers?

Not only is it off-putting and jarring, but silence on hold actually exacerbates a caller’s potential disappointment, and can even create it.

Back in the day, operators had to manually connect callers to one another, so there was usually a minute or so of silence to sit through while being connected. The thrill of communicating quickly outweighed the few minutes of silence, but in 1962 an anomaly happened: Alfred Levy – an inventor, factory owner and entrepreneur – discovered a loose phone wire touching the metal girder in his factory. This seemingly innocent loose wire turned his factory into a giant receiver, so when an audio signal was broadcasted from the next door radio station, it would transmit through the loose wire and callers could hear it when they were put on hold.

Now – fast forward to today and on hold audio productions reflect the professionalism of a company through original music, snappy advertising, and branded voices.

But when it comes to something as subjective as music, where do you start?

Do you opt for the local radio to entertain your callers? How about a classic Mozart or Vivaldi number? Maybe your son’s band is a good fit?

Who Cares?

If you’re thinking music doesn’t make a difference, think again!

In 1979, Rona Fried and Leonard Berkowitz conducted a study to find out if music influences helpfulness. A group of men and women were played either a soothing classical piece or nothing at all, and the results showed that those who listened to a pleasant piece of music were more willing to be helpful after the study, as opposed to those who listened to nothing.

More recently in 2014, The Journal of Applied Sociology published a study that sought to determine if on hold music with pro-social lyrics could reduce caller aggression. What they found, was callers who were played pro-social music, such as Michael Jackson’s Heal The World, were no less annoyed than those who had been played instrumental music or music with neutral lyrics.

So when it comes to your business, how do you want your callers to be feeling on the other end of the line? An angry or disappointed customer can be emotionally draining for your customer service team, so it’s in your absolute best interest to pick music that not only reflects your business, but also keeps your callers happily on hold.

Music and Your Brand

Think about your business and brand – are you creative and quirky? Professional and comforting? Soothing and uplifting? Whatever adjectives you use to describe your brand, they’ll help you to determine what kind of music will engage your callers.

Say you’re a health practice: put yourself in the shoes of your patients and think about what you’d expect from a health professional, something soothing, calming and minimal. Or, say you own a retail sporting shop: your choices would lean towards a faster-paced rhythm with uplifting melodies and lots of energy.

It’s all about how you want your callers to feel.

Luckily, when it comes to choice, The Groove Gallery makes it easy. With a massive library of genres and tracks to choose from, you’re bound to find the right tracks to keep your callers’ toes tapping.